Foul weather is good fowl weather
THE cold front that dropped through the Western states Wednesday has brought with it snow, rain and plunging temperatures. That should be good news for bird hunters who have been waiting and hoping for a little foul weather to liven things up on the waterfowl front.
According to the National Weather Service, snowy weather conditions and cold temperatures are expected in the northern half of Nevada through eastern Oregon, Idaho and into Canada. Ahead of the snow, hunters have seen a mixture of rain at lower elevations and snow in the high country.
Meanwhile, hunters in the Boise, Idaho, area reported on the Ducks Unlimited migration map that they were seeing an increase in bird numbers ahead of the storm. They specifically identified teal, pintail and widgeon among the birds being seen. They also have seen a few mallards and snow geese. Hopefully, some of those birds will move this way.
The precipitation is welcome to managers of wildlife refuges and wildlife management areas across the drought-stricken Western states. One of those is the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, where ongoing dry conditions are expected to impact the number of birds using the area. The nearby Great Salt Lake has dropped far enough to be of significant concern for migrating waterfowl that have long depended on the lake and its associated wetlands.
Both of those areas play host to birds that eventually move through the eastern and southern portions of Nevada.
So other than its obvious benefit to bird habitat, what is it that makes foul weather fowl weather?
According to the folks at Ducks Unlimited, one of the benefits of a storm front is an increase in cloud cover.
When that occurs, ducks stop their nighttime feeding behavior and become more active early and late in the day, giving hunters more opportunity.
Another benefit of cloudy days is the lack of sunshine that can reflect off gun barrels as well as a hunter’s upturned face. Both will let birds no you are there. Shadows are more muted, making it more difficult for passing birds to pick out the telltale silhouette of a waiting hunter.
On a sunny day, those benefits no longer exist. “Direct sunlight makes upturned faces glow with electric intensity. Even a perfectly camouflaged duck hunter is often revealed by the outline of shadows, and the slightest movement stands out like black on white. If the weather pattern holds for several days, birds quickly learn hunter patterns–where they like to hide … and where the safe zones are,” says a hunting tip on the DU website.
That explains why waterfowl hunting in the Mojave Desert can be a challenge.
At the same time, waterfowl have the tendency to develop flight patterns and daily habits that can be identified and used to the hunter’s benefit. So a morning hunt can evolve into a chess match.
Windy conditions associated with storm fronts can also be of help to waterfowl hunters by causing birds to look for protected areas where they can set down and ride things out.
Those areas might include backwaters, coves or the lee side of an island or other natural form of structure.
Freelance writer Doug Nielsen is a conservation educator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. His “In the Outdoors” column is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NDOW. Any opinions he states in his column are his own. Find him on Facebook at @ dougwritesoutdoors. He can be reached at intheoutdoorslv@gmail. com